The Florida Senate

400.071  Application for license.--

(1)  An application for a license as required by s. 400.062 shall be made to the agency on forms furnished by it and shall be accompanied by the appropriate license fee.

(2)  The application shall be under oath and shall contain the following:

(a)  The name, address, and social security number of the applicant if an individual; if the applicant is a firm, partnership, or association, its name, address, and employer identification number (EIN), and the name and address of any controlling interest; and the name by which the facility is to be known.

(b)  The name of any person whose name is required on the application under the provisions of paragraph (a) and who owns at least a 10-percent interest in any professional service, firm, association, partnership, or corporation providing goods, leases, or services to the facility for which the application is made, and the name and address of the professional service, firm, association, partnership, or corporation in which such interest is held.

(c)  The location of the facility for which a license is sought and an indication, as in the original application, that such location conforms to the local zoning ordinances.

(d)  The name of the person or persons under whose management or supervision the facility will be conducted and the name of the administrator.

(e)  A signed affidavit disclosing any financial or ownership interest that a person or entity described in paragraph (a) or paragraph (d) has held in the last 5 years in any entity licensed by this state or any other state to provide health or residential care which has closed voluntarily or involuntarily; has filed for bankruptcy; has had a receiver appointed; has had a license denied, suspended, or revoked; or has had an injunction issued against it which was initiated by a regulatory agency. The affidavit must disclose the reason any such entity was closed, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.

(f)  The total number of beds and the total number of Medicare and Medicaid certified beds.

(g)  Information relating to the number, experience, and training of the employees of the facility and of the moral character of the applicant and employees which the agency requires by rule, including the name and address of any nursing home with which the applicant or employees have been affiliated through ownership or employment within 5 years of the date of the application for a license and the record of any criminal convictions involving the applicant and any criminal convictions involving an employee if known by the applicant after inquiring of the employee. The applicant must demonstrate that sufficient numbers of qualified staff, by training or experience, will be employed to properly care for the type and number of residents who will reside in the facility.

(h)  Copies of any civil verdict or judgment involving the applicant rendered within the 10 years preceding the application, relating to medical negligence, violation of residents' rights, or wrongful death. As a condition of licensure, the licensee agrees to provide to the agency copies of any new verdict or judgment involving the applicant, relating to such matters, within 30 days after filing with the clerk of the court. The information required in this paragraph shall be maintained in the facility's licensure file and in an agency database which is available as a public record.

(3)  The applicant shall submit evidence which establishes the good moral character of the applicant, manager, supervisor, and administrator. No applicant, if the applicant is an individual; no member of a board of directors or officer of an applicant, if the applicant is a firm, partnership, association, or corporation; and no licensed nursing home administrator shall have been convicted, or found guilty, regardless of adjudication, of a crime in any jurisdiction which affects or may potentially affect residents in the facility.

(4)  Each applicant for licensure must comply with the following requirements:

(a)  Upon receipt of a completed, signed, and dated application, the agency shall require background screening of the applicant, in accordance with the level 2 standards for screening set forth in chapter 435. As used in this subsection, the term "applicant" means the facility administrator, or similarly titled individual who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the licensed facility, and the facility financial officer, or similarly titled individual who is responsible for the financial operation of the licensed facility.

(b)  The agency may require background screening for a member of the board of directors of the licensee or an officer or an individual owning 5 percent or more of the licensee if the agency has probable cause to believe that such individual has been convicted of an offense prohibited under the level 2 standards for screening set forth in chapter 435.

(c)  Proof of compliance with the level 2 background screening requirements of chapter 435 which has been submitted within the previous 5 years in compliance with any other health care or assisted living licensure requirements of this state is acceptable in fulfillment of paragraph (a). Proof of compliance with background screening which has been submitted within the previous 5 years to fulfill the requirements of the Department of Insurance pursuant to chapter 651 as part of an application for a certificate of authority to operate a continuing care retirement community is acceptable in fulfillment of the Department of Law Enforcement and Federal Bureau of Investigation background check.

(d)  A provisional license may be granted to an applicant when each individual required by this section to undergo background screening has met the standards for the Department of Law Enforcement background check, but the agency has not yet received background screening results from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or a request for a disqualification exemption has been submitted to the agency as set forth in chapter 435, but a response has not yet been issued. A license may be granted to the applicant upon the agency's receipt of a report of the results of the Federal Bureau of Investigation background screening for each individual required by this section to undergo background screening which confirms that all standards have been met, or upon the granting of a disqualification exemption by the agency as set forth in chapter 435. Any other person who is required to undergo level 2 background screening may serve in his or her capacity pending the agency's receipt of the report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation; however, the person may not continue to serve if the report indicates any violation of background screening standards and a disqualification exemption has not been requested of and granted by the agency as set forth in chapter 435.

(e)  Each applicant must submit to the agency, with its application, a description and explanation of any exclusions, permanent suspensions, or terminations of the applicant from the Medicare or Medicaid programs. Proof of compliance with disclosure of ownership and control interest requirements of the Medicaid or Medicare programs shall be accepted in lieu of this submission.

(f)  Each applicant must submit to the agency a description and explanation of any conviction of an offense prohibited under the level 2 standards of chapter 435 by a member of the board of directors of the applicant, its officers, or any individual owning 5 percent or more of the applicant. This requirement shall not apply to a director of a not-for-profit corporation or organization if the director serves solely in a voluntary capacity for the corporation or organization, does not regularly take part in the day-to-day operational decisions of the corporation or organization, receives no remuneration for his or her services on the corporation or organization's board of directors, and has no financial interest and has no family members with a financial interest in the corporation or organization, provided that the director and the not-for-profit corporation or organization include in the application a statement affirming that the director's relationship to the corporation satisfies the requirements of this paragraph.

(g)  An application for license renewal must contain the information required under paragraphs (e) and (f).

(5)  The applicant shall furnish satisfactory proof of financial ability to operate and conduct the nursing home in accordance with the requirements of this part and all rules adopted under this part, and the agency shall establish standards for this purpose, including information reported under paragraph (2)(e). The agency also shall establish documentation requirements, to be completed by each applicant, that show anticipated facility revenues and expenditures, the basis for financing the anticipated cash-flow requirements of the facility, and an applicant's access to contingency financing.

(6)  If the applicant offers continuing care agreements as defined in chapter 651, proof shall be furnished that such applicant has obtained a certificate of authority as required for operation under that chapter.

(7)  As a condition of licensure, each licensee, except one offering continuing care agreements as defined in chapter 651, must agree to accept recipients of Title XIX of the Social Security Act on a temporary, emergency basis. The persons whom the agency may require such licensees to accept are those recipients of Title XIX of the Social Security Act who are residing in a facility in which existing conditions constitute an immediate danger to the health, safety, or security of the residents of the facility.

(8)  The agency may not issue a license to a nursing home that fails to receive a certificate of need under the provisions of ss. 408.031-408.045. It is the intent of the Legislature that, in reviewing a certificate-of-need application to add beds to an existing nursing home facility, preference be given to the application of a licensee who has been awarded a Gold Seal as provided for in s. 400.235, if the applicant otherwise meets the review criteria specified in s. 408.035

(9)  The agency may develop an abbreviated survey for licensure renewal applicable to a licensee that has continuously operated as a nursing facility since 1991 or earlier, has operated under the same management for at least the preceding 30 months, and has had during the preceding 30 months no class I or class II deficiencies.

(10)  The agency may issue an inactive license to a nursing home that will be temporarily unable to provide services but that is reasonably expected to resume services. Such designation may be made for a period not to exceed 12 months but may be renewed by the agency for up to 6 additional months. Any request by a licensee that a nursing home become inactive must be submitted to the agency and approved by the agency prior to initiating any suspension of service or notifying residents. Upon agency approval, the nursing home shall notify residents of any necessary discharge or transfer as provided in s. 400.0255

(11)  As a condition of licensure, each facility must establish and submit with its application a plan for quality assurance and for conducting risk management.

History.--s. 6, ch. 69-309; ss. 19, 35, ch. 69-106; ss. 5, 6, ch. 70-361; s. 1, ch. 70-439; s. 3, ch. 76-168; s. 2, ch. 76-201; s. 236, ch. 77-147; s. 2, ch. 77-323; s. 1, ch. 77-457; ss. 4, 9, ch. 79-268; ss. 5, 18, ch. 80-186; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 12, 79, 83, ch. 83-181; s. 44, ch. 87-92; s. 30, ch. 93-177; ss. 11, 49, ch. 93-217; s. 11, ch. 97-87; s. 1, ch. 98-85; ss. 41, 71, ch. 98-171; s. 9, ch. 99-394; s. 71, ch. 2000-349; s. 15, ch. 2001-45; s. 25, ch. 2001-53; s. 2, ch. 2001-67; s. 148, ch. 2001-277; s. 18, ch. 2001-377.